Activating TCR signaling to thwart T-all

Abstract

© 2016 American Association for Cancer Research. Thymic negative selection is a process that aims to eliminate autoreactive T cells by inducing the apoptosis of thymocytes expressing a T-cell receptor (TCR) with high affinity for self-MHC. In this issue, Trinquand and colleagues demonstrate that TCR engagement or anti-CD3 stimulation of TCR-expressing T acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells results in their apoptosis. This cell death is reminiscent of thymic negative selection and has the potential for therapeutic exploitation.